You couldn't count Little Richard down or out in the '80s

With so many excellent forgotten movie songs, how can we stop at one week? The answer is we won't - so let's get busy with another week of movie songs starting off one of the pioneers of rock 'n' roll - LittleRichard and Great Gosh A'mighty (It's A Matter Of Time) from Down And Out In Beverly Hills.

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Little Richard was the Prince of the '50s and was a key figure in the transition of R&B to rock 'n' roll with songs like Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally. Another '50s hit for Little Richard was Good Golly, Miss Molly and in 1986, Little Richard nearly hit the Top 40 one last time with a similarly titled Great Gosh A'mighty.

Though still a draw, Little Richard's last Top 40 hit was in 1958 and Great Gosh A'mighty almost broke his dry spell when it peaked at No. 42 after being featured in the movie Down And Out In Beverly Hills, a movie recently discussed on Stuck in the '80s Podcast Episode 401 about movie remakes in the '80s. The video for Great Gosh A'mighty is slapped together with scenes from the box office smash starring Richard Dreyfuss, Nick Nolte, Bette Midler and Little Richard who portrays Orvis Goodnight. Not to be forgotten in the cast of Down And Out is the standout performance by Mike the Dog as Matisse in his one and only film role.

Now at 84 years of age, Little Richard is retired as a failing hip and old age in general has caught up with the man born Richard Penniman in Georgia.

About this blog

Relive the '80s music, movies and culture with Tampa Bay Times correspondent Steve Spears. A teen during the greatest decade ever, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to big hair.